The Long and Winding Road
by not-so-dumb-blonde
Summary: This story begins during Chaos Theory. What if Abby and Luka had never broken up? Will Carter and Abby still be? Find out by reading! PLZ read it. It will jump start my ego.


A/N- Hey Guys, Last night this story just kinda popped into my head. It starts off, believe it or not, during Chaos Theory. I won't give the story away so just read it. It's a little different. I hope you like it. LOL not-so-dumb-blonde PS: After Chaos Theory, just for the plot of my story, no other episodes have taken place.   
  
Disclaimer- If I actually owned ER their would be some significant changes to happen. So, you should know that I don't own anything!   
  
On with the show.......  
  
  
It was hot. It had never been that hot in all of Abby Lockhart's memory. It didn't help that the air conditioner, to them, didn't even exist anymore. She thought that she was starting to see mirages. Like the ones in the deserts in movies. The ones where you could see tropical islands or ice cream shops right in the middle of a sand storm, but Abby herself was going through another storm. Another kind totally that didn't have anything to do with sand or wind. She was finding herself falling in love with another man when she was dating another.   
  
Abby and John lay on the gurneys side by side. Her back started to itch. She couldn't help it. She had to move and scratch it.   
  
" What's wrong?" he asked her   
  
" My back itches."   
  
" You OK? You want me to take look?"   
  
He was concerned about her. She knew it to. They were best friends who were slowly but surely falling for each other. They knew it, their colleagues knew it, and unfortunately Dr. Luka Kovac knew it. He was Abby's present love interest. If you wanted to call him that. He was just the guy along for the ride. She wanted to dump him, but she didn't want Carter to think he was just the rebound guy. He was quite the opposite.   
  
" I'm fine." she retorted   
  
" Just let me take a look. It's not gonna hurt."   
  
" Whatever."   
  
She rolled her eyes at him being the caring doctor, and began to pull up her scrub top so he could see. He just smiled at her letting her know it was nothing. She had always loved these quiet exchange of smiles they shared. It was always brief. Maybe in trauma, or eating lunch, on the roof, or on their favorite bench by the river. They always managed to squeeze in a friendly, but intimate smile. Then he saw something on her that he hadn't seen before.   
  
" Since when did you get a tattoo?" he asked kissing her shoulder and then moving to her neck   
  
" I was in my religious stage." she replied laughing   
  
He looked at her seductively, and she knew what he wanted. She thought about it in those few brief seconds. Should I cheat on Luka with the man of my dreams? Or should I stay grounded and miss probably the greatest experience of my life since high school. Then she thought this is no contest.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*   
A month later, Luka and Abby sat in Doc Magoo's having lunch. Luka was trying to get her attention, but she seemed distracted. He realized her mind was being taken up by thought of something else besides him, the hospital, or even what she was eating for lunch.   
  
" Abby. Abby." he called with his deep, Croatian accent   
  
" What? Who? Nothing."   
  
" Abby, I didn't even ask you anything." he replied  
  
" Sorry, I was just distracted."   
  
" That's kind of obvious. Well, I gotta get back to the hospital. I'll see you later." he leaned over kissed her cheek softly   
  
" Bye." she said almost inaudible   
  
" Bye. Are we still on for dinner tonight?"   
  
" No, I mean I am sorry, but I am pulling a double for Chuny." she lied   
  
She knew she was off at eight. She didn't want to spend any time with him. Besides, he was being a jerk to her lately. Carter had asked her to dinner anyway. She didn't want to turn him down. She never turned him down. Well, not lately anyway.   
  
" It's all right. Maybe next time?"   
  
" Yeah. Maybe next time."   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The fire was blazing, the Chinese food they had ordered in was eaten, and the credits of the movie that they had rented were rolling. Her back lay on his chest. The sexual tension that they shared was even bigger than the room itself, and it was apparent to anyone who walked in.   
  
" What do you want to do now?" he asked her groggily   
  
" I have an idea!"   
  
" Seriously!" he asked surprised   
  
" Yeah."   
  
" But what about Luka? Your Croatian knight in shining armor." he said sarcastically   
  
" Screw Luka."   
  
" Too late. You already did." he joked   
  
" Funny. Now what are you gonna do about that?" she asked   
  
" With pleasure."   
  
" Wait."   
  
" What now? This was your idea." he asked annoyed   
  
" Did you tell anyone about us?"   
  
" No. Did you?" she didn't answer " Abby?"   
  
" Just Susan." she said swiftly   
  
" Great, now we might as well call everyone in the damn Chicago Yellow Pages! Including Luka!"   
  
" At least I didn't tell Chuny!"   
  
" True."   
  
" And at least Susan knows when to shut her mouth...sometimes."   
  
" Also true. Now, what was that idea about you and me having sex?"   
" Carry on." she replied   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*   
  
OK- That was just the beginning. Their secret relationship will cause problems. BIG ones. You just have to stay with me to know them. Let me know if you want me to continue or not. I love reviews. PLZ send them! LOL not-so-dumb-blonde 


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